Thursday, August 26, 2010

Monsters...Zombies...Carrie Harris?

Happy Thursday! Instead of the regular Truth Thursday I have someone very special here today!!!

Featured Writer: Carrie Harris

Debuting her novel Bad Taste in Boys in July 2011

Bad Taste in Boys (BTIB) is about a girl named Kate Grable. Kate’s a super smart med geek, and she’s the student trainer for her high school football team. She figures the experience will look good on her college apps, and as an added bonus she gets to be close to her quarterback crush, Aaron. Then something disturbing happens. Kate finds out that the coach has given the team steroids. Except...the vials she finds don’t exactly contain steroids. Whatever’s in them is turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless, flesh-eating...zombies.

Unless she finds an antidote, no one is safe. Not Aaron, not Kate’s brother, not her best friend...not even Kate...

Dum dum DUM.

1. SO I have to ask do you have Bad taste in boys?

Well, now I’m married to a mega awesome guy. He’s a doctor AND a ninja. Really. I’ve seen him whack shuriken out of the air and everything, and it’s surprisingly sexy. But in my pre-husband days? I dated a guy who thought he was a werewolf and tried to tear my couch apart. I dated a guy who got a cue ball stuck in his mouth. I unknowingly dated a small time mobster. And I went out with a guy who used to drink red tinted corn syrup at parties because he thought it made him look vampiric.

So, um…yeah. I should have tattooed “bad taste in boys” on my forehead back then, because mine was HORRID. And now it would be like free advertising for my book, which is never bad.

2. After recently stalking your blog (because I can’t get enough of the awesome!) I too have found a new love for Monsters. Did you love monsters even when you were little? Did you look for them underneath your bed at night?

Absolutely! I used to look for them all the time and be incredibly disappointed when they didn’t show. This may have had something to do with the fact that the underside of my bed was packed with assorted crap. You’d think there’d be a monster under-bed cleaning service or something.

Oooh. That’s a good idea for a book.

But anyway. I never outgrew my monster obsession, which you probably already figured out based on my dating history. I was a total Bella, minus the debilitating clumsiness and damsel in distress tendencies.

3. So tell us what your favorite type of characters is to write? Villains, Monsters, girls, boys? Are your monsters really bad?

I probably have the most fun writing geeks, monsters, and bad guys. I could quite happily write a book about a city full of geeky were-wombat megalomaniacs. I’m not sure if the world is ready for that, though.

As for the monsters, I’m not really big on the whole black and white thing. I don’t want to write bad guys who dry wash their hands and cackle while ordering their minions to throw the good guys into a pit full of geeky megalomaniacal were-wombats. I hate it when the bad guys are so obviously BAD. Admittedly, it’s hard to make walking corpses cute and fuzzy, but I still worked hard to fully flesh out my zombie hordes.

Get it? FLESH? As in flesh eating zombies? Sometimes I crack myself up. And other times I just make myself groan. I’m sure you can figure out which one I’m doing right now.

4. Have you ever gone to a science fair? Done a science project? What’s your favorite one? Any disaster stories?

One year, I decided to make a temperature sensor for some strange reason. My dad worked in plastics, so he got one of his coworkers to help me. I later learned that the guy actually worked on the atom bomb. I find it incredibly surreal to think that this guy’s resume included working on bombs and helping me with my junior high science project. Because of course that went on his resume.

The next year, I made a solar system mobile with bouncy balls that kept falling off. It was funny until Jupiter bounced off some girl’s head and sent her to the nurse’s office.

5. Dare to share any of your story experiments at work in your secret lab? (aka any new novels in the works)

Well, I’ve just finished another Kate Grable book and sent it to my agent, so I’m hoping we’ll be able to visit her again, only this time she’ll be hunting different beasties. Hairy ones. And I’ve got a few other books in various stages of completion featuring all kinds of creatures—demons, pirate leprechauns, fairies, and various werebeasties. But not geeky megalomaniacal were-wombats, I’m afraid.

Fun and Random Questions (As if we didn’t already cover those)

Pizza: Deep dish pepperoni. Or chicken and telephone, depending on the day.Soda: Diet Dr. Pepper keeps me conscious.Book: My head would explode if I tried to pick just one. And head explosions = bad.Book Series: You really have something against my head, don’t you?Mermaid or Cloud Princess (yes she lives on clouds people): I usually call myself Sparkly Merpire Princess. You know, when I’m talking to the voices in my head. Can we make that one of the options?Bicycles or rollerblades: Roller SKATES. I want to be a roller derby girl so bad. They could call me Carrie Go Round.Writing spot: The couch in front of my picture window. I like to keep watch over the front lawn in case the zombie hordes attack my house.

Now for those peeps who would like regular Q&A please visit Carrie’s awesome website where you will find yourself short stories, how and why she became a writer and what Monster Prom and Monster Math is all about! She also has her blog attached!

Carrie, does this make us all one degree of separation from Atom Bomb Guy? I seriously want to hear more about Werewolf Couch0Destroying Boyfriend. I have a whole new level of geeky respect for you, miss.Great interview, Jen!!! Totally looking forward to BTIB.

hi miss jen and miss carrie! that was a real fun interview. i got laughing when you said its hard to make walking corpses cute and fuzzy. haha and that carrie go round got me laughing too. i like zombie and beasty stories. mostly im not afraid. is this book for my age? ...hugs from lenny

Terrific interview, Jen! I was cracking up at the title! I've been counting down for Carrie's book before it even had the title. Seriously, I'll be first in line at the bookstore. And Carrie-I tried out for Roller Derby Girl! I just couldn't think of a uber cool name, though I love what yours would be!

Haha! Awesome interview! Carrie never fails to entertain... she's probably one of the funniest people I know. I feel super lucky because I've already read Bad Taste in Boys - woot! And yes, it's made of fun. :)

I'm so glad you left a comment on my blog Jen and I found you. This interview is great and Carrie's book sounds good. I was glad I could sweep you off the 666 number on FB and become 667. Now I think I have found two new friends, Jen and Carrie.NancyN. R. Williams, fantasy author

So NOT into zombies (they're one of my top ten nightmares), but can I just say that I would have purchased that book in a heartbeat even before I read your interview just based on the cover. Love love love it! Wow, how easy was I with the marketing? But now I'm intrigued and will be adding it to the reading pile.